Just like the classic British comedy was set in a slightly crazy hotel, this temple of propaganda and Olympic Games TV coverage is being built in the middle of a pretty nutty ideological and political situation, on a fantastically tight schedule.

Everybody may have a different take on what China should and should not do, but one thing is clear - they are doing their darnedest to appear the best in the Olympic spotlight. We've heard about their desperate attempt to make Peking an ecologically cleaner city (part of which is... a massive killing of cats, no less!) and we may doubt if they're really going to clean up their act - but they certainly choose eye-catching designs when it comes to architecture!

Since Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) was awarded the contract on December 20, 2002 - the concept sketches were busily brought to life in the middle of Peking (Beijing). On this page you'll see the most recent construction stages. But first, here are some original visions:

Check out the huge screen showing live Olympics coverage:

Two high-rise buildings at the height of 230 meters are inclined toward each other, connected by spectacular glass and beam structures (Japanese company designed the irregular grid on the building's facade)

The angle of "falling" of these towers is pretty significant: 10 degrees incline - twice the "falling angle" of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Depending on which tower you'll be working in, your political news coverage will lean significantly, either to the left, or to the right... just kidding.

The center will cost upwards of 900 million dollars, providing office space for 10,000 people.

The building is also designed to withstand magnitude 8 earthquakes! Even though it looks like it's going to fall on your head (some tourists reported a reeling, dizzy feeling and some reportedly fainted while looking up) - this weird skyscraper is incredibly stable.

The un-attached towers leaning toward each other during construction look even more other-worldly during the night:

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8 Comments:

Great photos on the Beijing Olympic construction projects, Avi! For more in-depth reporting on mind-blowing scale and speed of these projects, check out the May National Geographic special issue on China, with an article by Ted Fishman on China's urban construction boom. In an interesting turnaround from the situation in the US, where most of our products are Chinese, in Beijing all these new architectural designs are from Western companies, which sometimes doesn't sit too well with Beijing's citizens; "Some people in China—including Chinese architects—believe their country has become the Western architects' weapons testing ground":http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/05/china/architecture/ted-fishman-text

I am sorry you feel the need to rip into China like the rest of the media - Obviously us Westerners don't like up and coming competition (China) or, for that matter, oil producing countries (where do I start?).I was very happy to see Micheal Palin (arguably a man of the world) interviewed yesterday and when asked to coment on the Tibet issue, basically wouldn't, and even suggested after speaking to many Tibetans (including the Dalai Lama himself) that there would be a lot in it for them.I am sick of idiots who read the propaganda press and think they know it all.Oh I think the cartoon at the end really say's it all doesn't it? Whitout China us Westerners would not have many things we take for granted.